We wake up each day and begin anew, with better ideas to make money, get married or simply have more fun: Family, food, work, entertainment, sleep. Then, we wake up again the next day to dive into the same routine, the same ambition. We are in the same boat as it seems like we have exactly the same goals and aspirations: how to make ourselves more happy and comfortable. That’s okay, right?

That’s exactly why we are here: to work tirelessly and make money, or follow some career, or get married. Each day we hit the internet to have fun and feel we are living the purpose of our existence. And most of us don’t even bother to think about having a purpose!

I mean, we are educated, civilized people. And extremely busy. So that, by default, means we are fulfilling the purpose (if there is any). But we forget that it is not enough to be busy because so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy doing? Sometimes, does it not feel like we are existing but not living? It does.1

And that’s why a famous Hollywood comedian actor, Jim Carrey, said, despite having “it all”: “I hope everybody could get rich and famous and will have everything they ever dreamed of, so they will know that it’s not the answer.”

Let’s see what our Creator said about our purpose of existence: “And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.” (Adh Dhariyat, 51:56)
Now take a deep look into your daily life and see how much you remember Allah, your Creator? Where and when do you try to please Him? Is your life all about me, myself and I? Or is it about ‘Allah‘?!

We have a responsibility. Life is not just about finishing a video game or keeping up with the latest fashion or updating the Facebook profile. Life has more to it.

We have been created for a higher purpose. And that is: living and actualizing this kalimah: None has the right to be worshiped but Allah (la ilaha illaAllah).

We all believe in la ilaha illaAllah but belief in it is more than just saying ‘No’ to bowing down to idols – it has a much deeper meaning which we have to live up to.
Living this kalima requires us to obey no one but Allah, to love Allah alone and to have other love in our hearts as an offshoot of that love, to never love the creation more than Allah, to fear Allah the most, to put all hopes in/with Him alone and not the creation, to rely on Allah and not to depend on the creation, to fear Allah the most, to love what Allah loves and to hate what Allah hates…

Honestly, are we living up to it? Are we making sure we love our family, children, etc., in the right amount or is that love becoming a hazard for us because we keep disobeying Allah in order to please them?

Only when you worship Allah alone, obey Him alone and do not disobey Him by obeying man made laws, trust Him and His decree over you completely, love Him intensely more than anyone else, fear His punishment and pin all hopes on Him, you submit to Him…and that is when you live la ilaha illaAllah!

Part of belief in Tawheed is devoting all acts of worship, both inward and outward, in word and deed, to Allah alone and not worshiping anything or anyone other than Allah, no matter who He is.

“And your Lord has decreed that you not worship except Him” (Al-Isra,17:23)

The meaning of La ilaaha ill Allah, that there is none worthy of worship except Allah – this necessitates that the servant makes Allah the sole object of worship, not directing any worship to other than him, whether that worship be khawf, or khas’yah, or tawakkul (which means putting ones trust solely in Allah), and the other meanings of ‘ibaadah. It is binding upon a servant to realize the greatness of this word and to make it a reality in his life, and that he does not say the statement emptily without meaning it.
And the opposite of this Tawheed is shirk. And Allah has decreed that the mushrikeen will abide forever in Hell and has told us that He will not forgive them and He has forbidden Paradise to them, as He says:

“Indeed, Allah does not forgive association with Him, but He forgives what is less than that for whom He wills. And he who associates others with Allah has certainly fabricated a tremendous sin” (An-Nisa 4:48)

Understand the danger. RELIGIOUS IGNORANCE IS ABUNDANT AND HOLDING ONTO ISLAM IS LIKE HOLDING ONTO A BURNING COAL. You pick up a novel and what you get to read is some garbage about magic being a good thing, people who can never die and have divine powers, overwhelming obsession with some created being (Twilight?), you turn on the TV and find shows where Islam is being mocked, belittled and maligned, you pick up your cell phone where you are being bombarded with messages about fortune telling and people claiming to know the unseen! While living in such a dangerous world, make sure you are still a Muslim!

I mean, we are here in this world to please our Creator; it would be the MOST shameful thing if we NEVER make it! Because we are created by Allah and for Allah and unless we understand that, life will NEVER make sense!

“He was born. He grew up. Got married. Then he died.” – Let not just this be the story of your life. Do something worth mentioning. Something big.1 Do Islam. Because bearing witness to this kalimah is not just an action of the tongue; let the heart bear witness.